Blog Archive
The other day I was on vacation driving down the road with my family. And it was beautiful! The afternoon sunlight was shining brightly for the first time that day. The sun was right on the horizon, right at golden hour. There were dark clouds in the east, and the...
My brother David plucks an ear of corn from the plethora of stocks that tower above him in the family garden under the warm, late-afternoon sunlight. He pulls away the husks to reveal for the first time the luscious fruit of his labors. But let me ask. Was it only...
With Christmas just around the corner, I thought it was unique that the need for a picture of a pipe organ just happened to come up (see the latest Shoot to Serve assignment, Pipe Organ). Now, I have to admit, even I sorta thought this to be a daunting assignment....
When you see a beautiful picture, was it the camera or the photographer that took it? I’d say the answer is, both. Of course it was the photographer that initiated it. It was the photographer that envisioned the pretty picture, brought the camera to the right spot,...
Oh the allure of landscape photography…. To travel to the most beautiful places on earth! To get lost in the wonder and awesomeness of God’s creation! To experience the adventure of the unknown and encounter the realities of the wilderness! I’ve longed for it. I’ll...
I shifted my position on the pew once again. Am I the only one who fights the battle to banish drowsiness on Sunday mornings? It’s not that the Sunday School lesson wasn’t interesting….we were engaged in an intriguing study of human nature as characterized in the...
The kind of mood you want viewers to feel when they look at your photo begins with how you decide to frame up your shot. There's a lot of power behind the perspective you decide to shoot from! The other day, as I was thinking about how to best shoot the newly...
I am by no means an HDR expert, but as far as I know, there are two main ways to go about processing photos in a way that showcases a high dynamic range: Tone Mapping and Exposure Blending. I’ve have had fun playing with Tone Mapping in programs like Photomatix and...
Not too long ago, I saw a picture that irked me. It’s not that it was “evil”. It was just that it contained stuff that didn’t impress me as being “good”—morally upright, exuding the qualities of unquestionable integrity. Stuff like this doesn’t always bother me....
“Summer in West Virginia was very wet this year. Autumn has been no different. Why not take advantage of it and go take some pictures of waterfalls?!” This is what went through my head when the current Shoot to Serve photo assignment, Beautiful Waterfalls, came...
We all know what dust bunnies are, right? They’re those little balls of dust that gather on the floor after having not swept or dusted for a long time. But do you know dust bunnies are in photography? You have most likely seen them in your pictures before. They are...
Been following politics recently? I don’t very closely, but it has been interesting to observe from afar the events surrounding the appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court….from the perspective of a photographer. Here are 3 things that I’ve been...
Ever wondered how pro landscape photographers get an entire image to be in tack-sharp focus, from the detailed foreground subject all the way to the distant, background elements? It’s because they understand an intriguing concept called “Hyperfocal Distance”. And...
I use the camera on my phone a lot, especially on mission trips. It’s handy for getting selfies, taking videos, and capturing memories where a DSLR is not practical or safe. However, the fact that they are so handy also makes them easier to lose. This selfie was...
We go through such great pains to get an amazing picture. Like, a super amazing picture! And then someone critiques it. “You should have done this. And this. And oh, this too. And this, of course.” We respectfully nod our heads. But inside, the storm rages! “You...
A printed photo has two sides, obviously. A front and a back. But emotionally speaking, every photo has two sides as well. The front is the side we talk about much….the photo itself. Is it a good photo? How does it make the viewer feel? Is the message the...
If you happen to be up on Lenspiration’s photo assignments, you’ll have noticed that the current assignment is “Friendship”. In short, the assignment is to be on the lookout for a photo op that illustrates the idea of Proverbs 27:17, “Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man...
The via ferrata trail guide surveyed the full frame DSLR I had clipped on to my photography waist strap as the group gathered for the opening safety briefing. “No, I’ve never seen anyone bring a camera that big on the via before.” For the umpteenth time, I...
We all love to hear stories that reveal the power of God and His amazing hand at work. But what about those stories that don’t have a good ending? Do you have a few of those? Are you living in one right now? When a story is in the making, it’s usually not one...
In this guest blog post, Abby shares things she's learned through photographing weddings, and what she wishes she knew beforehand.
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